About 6,000 Moscow state employees will be switched over, including teachers, doctors and civil servants. If the move is a success, the city will consider shifting 600,000 PCs and servers away from Microsoft, and may also replace Windows and Office, according to Bloomberg.

The migration will be carried out by Russian state-run carrier Rostelecom and will cut the council's costs by about 30 percent, according to the authority.

However, the switchover is not primarily about saving money. Moscow city council is reportedly dropping Microsoft Outlook and Exchange to minimise the risks associated with using a "foreign development platform".